Welder&#39;s protective headgear



Jan. 28, 1941- J. H. SCHNEIDER WELDERS PROTECTIVE HEADGEAR Filed April14, 193a a sheets sheet 1 INVENTOR- SM WITNES$ WW0 ATTORNEYS.

Jan. 28, 1941- J. H. SCHNEIDER WELDER S IPROTEC-TJVEL HEADGEAR sShuts-Sheet z Filed April 14. 1938- WITNESSES MM. 7, d. M

ATTORNEYS.

Jan. 28, 1941.

J. H. SCHNEIDER WELDERS PROTECTIVE HEADGEAR Filed April 14. 19:8

My A ATTORNEYS.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 w INVENTOR. S Mar-v BY V 2 65);; on I WITNESSESPatented Jan. 2a, 1941 2,229,706 waapsns rno'rao'rrvannsnenanApplication April 14, 1938, Serial No. 201,98;

5 Claims.

This invention relates to protective headgear for welders and the like,and has among its objects the provision of unitary means which protectsthe head, face and lungs of the wearer, which effectively shields theface from intense heat, which is readily accommodated to differentindividuals, and which is strong and durable.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig.1 is a front view of my protective headgear; Fig. 2 is a side viewthereof; Fig. 3 is a rear view; Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken online IVIV of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a horizontal section takenon line V-V ofFig. 2; Fig. 6 is a rear view of a modification of part of the gear;Fig. 7 is a vertical section through the face shield shown in Fig. 6;and Figs.

8, 9 and 10 are enlarged fragmentary se'tions of modifications of theface shield itself.

In accordance with this invention, a face shield, provided with theusual sight opening covered by a removable dark glass, is supported infront of the face by a blow-resistant protective hat to which it ispivotally connected to permit the shield to be swung upwardly out of theline of vision. Connected to the inner face of the shield is arespirator which is adjustably mounted so as to properly and comfortablyfit different individuals. To keep the intense heat encountered inwelding from being radiated by he shield to the face, the shield ispreferably coated on one of both sides with a metal paint or foil of lowemissivity, i. e. does not readily radiate heat absorbed by it andtherefore forms an effective insulator. The insulating effect of themetal is increased if it also possesses a high degree of reflectivity.

Referring to the first four figures of the drawings, a protective hat Iof any suitable design and adjustable to any desired size by the usualadjustable hat band, not shown, is formed of a suitable blow-resistantmaterial. This hat supports a shield 2 in front of the face. The shieldis made of light-weight rigid material, such as molded Bakelite orheat-resistant fibre board,

' and is provided with the usual sight opening 3 sition relative to thehat either in front of the face orabove it by any well known means, suchas small pla'telike members 9 non-rotatablymounted on the shield .andhat and biased toward each other. These members are provided withinterengaging detents H, as shown in Fig.

- 3, which are disengaged when the wearer swings the shield from one ofits two positions to the other.

It is another feature of this invention that this protective headgear issuitable for welding where the air is laden with toxic gases or with anexcess amount of dust or other foreign particles.

Accordingly, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, a respirator is mounted behindthe face shield so that pure air can be breathed by the welder while atwork. The respirator preferably comprises a face-piece l2 of rubber orother flexible air-tight material adapted to fit snugly over the noseand mouth and which is connected by branch tubes l3 to a main inlet tubeit through which fresh or pure air is pumped. The excess-air and exhaledbreath escape from the face-piece through an exhalation valve 16 of wellknown construction. Main tube M extends through the shield at a pointadjacent pivot plates 9 ,so that the tube is not pulled too much whenthe shield is raised relative to the hat.

It is also a feature of this invention that the respirator is so mountedin the shield that it can be accommodated to the faces of variousindividuals in order to fit them properly and comfortably. For thispurpose the face-piece is mounted for vertical adjustment relative tothe shield and for movement toward and away from it. Preferably, theadjustable mounting comprises a plate ll disposed against the inner faceof the shield that is provided with a central vertical slot I8 throughwhich extends a bolt N that is secured to the plate and carries a nut 2!(Figs. 1, 2 and 5). The plate is prevented from. tilting by means of twoparallel vertical ribs 20 pressed out of or otherwise formed on theshield, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. Secured to the rear face of the plateis a coil spring 22 on the rear end of which is mounted a disc 23 orother suitable member that is connected to the front of the respiratorface-piece to support it within the movement of the respiratorvertically when necessary, but vertical adjustment is effectedprincipally by loosening nut 2i and slidingpiate ll up or down betweenribs 20.

A protective headgear constructed in accordance with this invention ishighly advantageous where there is danger of the wearer being struck onthe head by falling objects, as his head as well as his face isprotected. Likewise, the lungs are protected where the air is not purebecause a respirator is carried by the face shield. By mounting therespirator on the: shield it is not necessary to be put to the troubleof applying and adjusting a separate respirator every time one isneeded. Once the respirator is adjusted in the shield to fit anindividual, it is automatically and properly positioned over his noseand mouth whenever the headgear is donned and the shield sight openingassembly. The frame 21 for the fopening 28 is integral with the faceshield, and the glass-carrying frame 29 is hinged directly to theshield.

when a considerable amount of welding is being done, the face shield maybecome so hot from the heat of the welding torch that the shield willradiate sufllcient heat inwardly against the face to cause materialdiscomfort. To avoid this the face shield is preferably coated with alayer of aluminum Si or other metal which does not readily radiate heatabsorbed by it, and which has a high degree of reflectivity of heat raysto which it is exposed. Such a coating may be applied as a paint or as afoil. Also. it may be applied to either the outside or the inside of theshield or to both sides, as shown, respectively, in

Figs. 8, 9 and 10. The heat reaching and absorbed by this layer of metalis not radiated in wardly toward the face to such an extent as to beunduly objectionable, and when the metal is applied to the outside ofthe shield it also reflects a large part of its heat, whereby the metalcoating forms an efficient heat insulator without rendering the shieldtoo heavy or cumbersome.

According to the provisions of thepatent statutes, I have explained theprinciple and construction of my invention and have illustrated anddescribed what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However,I desire to have it understood that. within the scope of the'appended'all directions relative to the shield.

rigid face shield adapted to be connected to the 5 head, means mountedon the inner face of said shield for vertical adjustment thereon,resilient meanssecured at one end to said adjustable means andprojecting therefrom with its opposite end universally movable relativeto said shield, and a respirator mounted on said opposite end of saidresilient means, whereby said respirator is free to move in alldirections relative tothe shield.

2. Welder's protective headgear comprising a rigid face shield, adaptedto be connected to the 15 head, means mounted on the inner face of saidshield for vertical adjustment thereon, a coil spring secured to saidmeans and projecting rearwardly therefrom, and a respirator mounted onthe rear end of said spring.

3. Welder's protective headgear comprising a rigid face shield memberadapted to be cone rigid face shield provided with a vertical slot, a

plate disposed against the inner face of said shield, means connected tothe plate and extend- 85 ing through said slot for detachably clampingthe plate to the shield, the shield being provided with inwardlyprojecting portions at the opposite sides of said plate for holding theplate against rotation relative .to the shield, resilient 40 meanssecured at one end to the rear face of the plate and projectingtherefrom with its opposite end universally movable relative to theshield, and

a respirator mounted on said opposite end of said means, whereby saidrespirator is free to move in all directions relative to the shield.

5. Welder's protective headgear comprising a rigid face shield memberadapted to be con-' nected to the head, a plate member disposed againstthe inner face of said shield, one of said members being provided with avertical slot, means connected to the other of said members andextending through said slot for adjustably positioning said plate on theshield, resilient means secured at one end to the plate and pro- 65jecting therefrom with its opposite end universally movable relative tothe shield, and a respirator mounted on said opposite end of saidresilient means, whereby the respirator is free to move in JOHN H.SCHNEIDER.

